Build Large Muscles» building muscle

Can You Gain Muscle and Burn Fat at the Same Time?

fitness — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:32:19 +0000

Can You Gain Muscle and Burn Fat at the Same Time?
– By Jon Benson, Author of “7 Minute Muscle” 
Many fitness pros just plain don’t believe that you can burn fat while building muscle at the same time. Every time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it’s “biologically impossible” to gain muscle on a hypocaloric diet (a diet low in calories) I just laugh.  I do more than make claims – I have proved this to be true many times. I’ve had my body fat hydrostatically measured during several peaks. In all but one I showed an increase of muscle mass and a decrease of body fat during a 12-16 week period. The one time I didn’t show an increase in muscle mass when was I was training the most in the gym. That may not make sense right now, but it will in a moment.

(Read the full article here: Gain Muscle Burn Fat) 

Other Resources:

Build Muscle, Burn Fat

The secret to getting super lean – I’m talking about being RIPPED, not just “average body fat” – is all about mastering the art of “peaking.” Most people do not have a clue about what it takes to reach the type of low body fat levels that reveal ripped six-pack abs, muscle striations, vascularity and extreme muscular definition, so they go about it completely the wrong way.

Here’s a case in point: One of my newsletter subscribers recently sent me this question:

Tom, on your Burn the Fat website, you wrote:

‘Who better to model than bodybuilders and fitness competitors? No athletes in the world get as lean as quickly as bodybuilders and fitness competitors. The transformations they undergo in 12 weeks prior to competition would boggle your mind! Only ultra-endurance athletes come close in terms of low body fat levels, but endurance athletes like triathaletes and marathoners often get lean at the expense of chewing up all their muscle. Some of them are nothing but skin and bone.’

“There seems to be a contradiction unless I’m missing something. Why do bodybuilders and fitness competitors have to go through a 12 week ‘transformation’ prior to every event instead of staying ‘lean and mean’ all the time? If they practice the secrets exposed in your book, they should be staying in shape all the time instead of having to work at losing fat prior to every competitive event, correct?”

There is a logical explanation for why bodybuilders and other physique athletes (fitness and figure competitors), don’t remain completely ripped all year round, and it’s the very reason they are able to get so ripped on the day of a contest…

You can’t hold a peak forever or it’s not a “peak”, right? What is the definition of a peak? It’s a high point surrounded by two lower points isn’t it?

Therefore, any shape you can stay in all year round is NOT your “peak” condition.

The intelligent approach to nutrition and training (which almost all bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors use), is to train and diet in a seasonal or cyclical fashion and build up to a peak, then ease off to a maintenance or growth phase.

I am NOT talking about bulking up and getting fat and out of shape every year, then dieting it all off every year. What I’m talking about is going from good shape to great (peak) shape, then easing back off to good shape…. but never getting “out of shape.” Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

Here’s an example: I have no intentions whatsoever of walking around 365 days a year at 4% body fat like I appear in the photo on my website. Off-season, when I’m not competing, my body fat is usually between 8 – 10%. Mind you, that’s very lean and still single digit body fat.

I don’t stray too far from competition shape, but I don’t maintain contest shape all the time. It takes me 12-14 weeks or so to gradually drop from 9.5% to 3.5%-4.0% body fat to “peak” for competition with NO loss of lean body mass…using the same techniques I reveal in my e-book.

It would be almost impossible to maintain 4% body fat, and even if I could, why would I want to? For the few weeks prior to competition I’m so depleted, ripped, and even “drawn” in the face, that complete strangers walk up and offer to feed me.

Okay, so I’m just kidding about that, but let’s just say being “being ripped to shreds” isn’t a desirable condition to maintain because it takes such a monumental effort to stay there. It’s probably not even healthy to try forcing yourself to hold extreme low body fat. Unless you’re a natural “ectomorph” (skinny, fast metabolism body type), your body will fight you. Not only that, anabolic hormones may drop and sometimes your immune system is affected as well. It’s just not “normal” to walk around all the time with literally no subcutaneous body fat.

Instead of attempting to hold the peak, I cycle back into a less demanding off-season program and avoid creeping beyond 9.9% body fat. Some years I’ve stayed leaner – like 6-7%, (which takes effort), especially when I knew I would be photographed, but I don’t let my body fat go over 10%.

This practice isn’t just restricted to bodybuilders. Athletes in all sports use periodization to build themselves up to their best shape for competition. Is a pro football player in the same condition in March-April as he is in August-September? Not a chance. Many show up fat and out of shape (relatively speaking) for training camp, others just need fine tuning, but none are in peak form… that’s why they have training camp!!!

There’s another reason you wouldn’t want to maintain a “ripped to shreds” physique all year round – you’d have to be dieting (calorie restricted) all the time. And this is one of the reasons that 95% of people can’t lose weight and keep it off –they are CHRONIC dieters… always on some type of diet. Know anyone like that?

You can’t stay on restricted low calories indefinitely. Sooner or later your metabolism slows down and you plateau as your body adapts to the chronically lowered food intake. But if you diet for fat loss and push incredibly hard for 3 months, then ease off for a while and eat a little more (healthy food, not “pigging out”), your metabolic rate is re-stimulated. In a few weeks or months, you can return to another fat loss phase and reach an even lower body fat level, until you finally reach the point that’s your happy maintenance level for life – a level that is healthy and realistic – as well as visually appealing.

Bodybuilders have discovered a methodology for losing fat that’s so effective, it puts them in complete control of their body composition. They’ve mastered this area of their lives and will never have to worry about it again. If they ever “slip” and fall off the wagon like all humans do at times … no problem! They know how to get back into shape fast.

Bodybuilders have the tools and knowledge to hold a low body fat all year round (such as 9% for men, or about 15% for women), and then at a whim, to reach a temporary “peak” of extremely low body fat for the purpose of competition. Maybe most important of all, they have the power and control to slowly ease back from peak shape into maintenance, and not balloon up and yo-yo like most conventional dieters!

What if you had the power to stay lean all year round, and then get super lean when summer rolled around, or when you took your vacation to the Caribbean, or when your wedding date was coming up? Wouldn’t you like to be in control of your body like that? Isn’t that the same thing that bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors do, only on a more practical, real-world level?

So even if you have no competitive aspirations whatsoever, don’t you agree that there’s something of value everyone could learn from physique athletes? Don’t model yourself after the huge crowd of losers who gobble diet pills, buy exercise gimmicks and suffer through starvation diets like automatons, only to gain back everything they lost! Instead, learn from the leanest athletes on Earth – natural bodybuilders and fitness competitors…

These physique athletes get as ripped as they want to be, exactly when they want to, simply by manipulating their diets in a cyclical fashion between pre-contest “cutting” programs and off season “maintenance” or “muscle growth” programs. Even if you have no desire to ever compete, try this seasonal “peaking” approach yourself and you’ll see that it can work as well for you as it does for elite bodybuilders.

If you’re interested in learning even more secrets of bodybuilders and fitness models, visit the Burn The Fat website at: Burn the Fat

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT) and a certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS). Tom is the author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using the secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn body fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: Burn the Fat.

The Perfect Rep Range For Building Muscle

fitness — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:30:20 +0000

Sean Nalewanyj asked:

No matter what you read or who you talk to, everyone has their own opinion of what the “perfect” rep range should be to allow for maximum muscle stimulation and growth. In this article I’m going to clear up the confusion once and for all and teach you the truth about choosing the most effective rep range for optimal muscle-building results.

Sets that utilize heavy weight and low reps are without a doubt the most effective means of stimulating muscle growth. For every set you perform in the gym, you should utilize a rep range of 5 to 7. This means that for every set you perform, the weight should be light enough that you can complete 5 reps in good form, but heavy enough that you cannot complete more than 7. What’s so special about 5 to 7, you ask? Well…

1) Each set will only last between 20-30 seconds.

Maximizing your muscle gains is all about intensity and efficiency. By utilizing a lower rep range, your sets will only last a short period of time, allowing you to generate 100% mental focus and effort. Training with 100% intensity is critical to stimulating muscle growth and it is much easier to maintain this level of effort for shorter periods of time. You will not have to psyche yourself up for marathon sets lasting minutes on end, but rather for a short burst of all-out effort lasting only several seconds.

2) Muscle stimulation will be maximized.

Our bodies are made up of 2 main types of muscle fiber: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers cannot generate large bursts of power and are utilized during prolonged activity. They have a high tolerance for endurance exercise but do not have a very high potential for increased growth. Fast twitch fibers on the other hand produce large bursts of power and are utilized during short, explosive movements. They contain a large amount of mitochondria (an area in the muscle cell where energy is produced) and have the highest potential for increases in both size and strength. By utilizing a rep range of 5 to 7 you will tap into these extremely responsive fibers and this will result in the greatest amount of muscle growth and strength gain possible.

3) Maximum resistance can be used.

By performing only 5 to 7 reps per set, you will enable your muscles to handle heavier amounts of weight than you could with a higher rep range. Building muscle is a byproduct of building strength, and training in a lower rep range is the most effective way to accomplish this. Since your strength will shoot up much faster using 5 to 7 reps per set, so will your muscle size.

4) Lactic Acid production will be kept to a minimum.

Training in the range of 5 to 7 will also decrease the amount of lactic acid that is secreted within the muscles. Lactic acid is a metabolic waste product that is produced as the body burns carbohydrates for fuel. Lactic acid accumulates in the muscle tissue at increased rates the longer you exercise. By limiting the amount of lactic acid production you will decrease muscle catabolism and create an environment in the body where greater amounts of energy can be generated. This will translate into greater power output and maximum strength potential.

Okay, so we’ve established that a rep range of 5-7 is the absolute most effective means of stimulating muscle growth. However, this does not apply all the time or on every single lift. There are a few select muscle groups that should be stimulated using a slightly higher rep range. These are the calves, abs, forearms and upper traps. These muscle groups are predominantly made up of slow-twitch fibers, and therefore will respond better to higher reps. For this reason, a rep range of 10-12 should be utilized for these muscle groups. Again, this means that the weight should be light enough for you to complete at least 10 reps, but heavy enough that you cannot complete more than 12.

Summary:

Perform 5-7 reps for the chest, lats, biceps, triceps, shoulders and thighs.

Perform 10-12 reps for the calves, abs, forearms and upper traps.

Muscle Gain

Is it Possible to Build an Impressive Physique With Bodyweight Exercises Alone?

fitness — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:33:36 +0000

John Graham Baines asked:

The answer is YES. I know many of you are probably sceptical about using body weight exercises to build a strong and lean physique. The truth is the body cannot distinguish between your own body weight and a weight being lifted up. Both forms of exercises provide plenty of resistance the only difference being the type of exercises.

Gymnasts are a good example of the type of people who only use body weight exercises. They build their physiques for function first then ornamental second.

By using intense resistance exercises that can only be sustained for less than five repetitions the body focuses on using the nervous system to recruit as many muscle fibres as possible. This is known as “neural adaptation”. You build the greatest amount of strength using this form of training.

To train for muscular hypertrophy you adjust the intensity of the body weight exercises so that you have a rep range between eight to twelve reps. You can adjust the intensity by using easier variations of the body weight exercises.

To train for endurance you adjust the intensity of the body weight exercises so that you have a rep range between fifteen and fifty.

Some good old fashioned exercises include:

*Pushups, pullups, chinups, squats and janda situps.

Although these exercises may not seem like much they are in fact the most effective in building muscle simply because they involve multiple joints and allow your body to move in space rather than your arms and hands. It is also recommended that one trains with these basic exercises before moving onto weights if one chooses to.

For more information on building a strong and lean physique visit below:

http://buildmusclenoweights.blogspot.com/

Muscle Growth

Spirit Lying Behind Muscle Building

fitness — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:06:03 +0000

Muscle building is magnificent ways of accomplishing strength by replacing a novel body structures having curves, organic strength as well as lines. This requests accurate work out with muscles. Muscle building is an overwhelming practice, also a leisure pursuit which is highly authoritative, in view of the fact that it is worthwhile in addition to that it also offers you some real great paybacks; such as an enhanced appearance, increased strength, growth in confidence plus including all, a hale and hearty look. It is an acknowledged fact that encompassing muscles, is to a great extent more gorgeous than a fat body. Building muscles is not an easy task to perform, but it is fairly simple. If you are ready to put in the appropriate effort, then you will surely not face any problem in building muscle.

Muscle building is extremely in good turn with fitness devotees all over the world. A grand look along with budding self confidence nature is what everybody desires to accomplish. Muscle building is the course of accomplishing muscle from end to end with the amalgamation of exercising using weights, hoisting the sum of calories addicted, along with its recreation. The spirit lying behind muscle building is to be figured up as follows: promoting the muscle with an adequate amount of calorific in take to give support in the muscle development and no more.

Muscle building is over and over again perplexed with burning of fat. Despite the fact that some quantity of fat is burnt, it does not go ahead in losing weight. Muscle building is confirmed to be obliging not only for development in athletic aptitude but at the same time it also set in motion your basal metabolism as well as endorses fat smoldering. Muscle building is incredibly significant if losing fat is a preferred consequence of your work out. The moment you bend over your body your mass reaches up to a certain extent, you can intake more for the reason that the muscle requires a more fuel to utility.

Muscle building is an extended procedure which can even take months for noticeable outcome. It solely depends on your permanence, calorie ingestion as well as proper rest which recompense you with immense prizes, which is an overwhelming body everybody will envy. Muscle building is a progression, easy to trail but it desires effort as well as uniformity to bring about your goals.

Muscle Gain

Myths That Effect Your Muscle Building Results

fitness — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:30:34 +0000

Shawn Lebrun asked:

Over the past 5 years, while working as a personal trainer, I’ve discovered a lot of muscle building hype floating around the internet.

Here are some of the most common myths that will effect your muscle building goals. Next to the myth, I’ve revealed the truth so you can learn how to do it right.

1. You need to drastically cut your calories to lose weight and build muscle.

False. You need to actually eat more food, it just has to be better food and smaller portions. The goal is to increase metabolism and this can be done by eating a smaller meal every 3 hours.

If you reduce calories by too much, your metabolism will actually slow down, causing you to hold onto stored fat. That is why diets DO NOT WORK!!!

My clients eat more food and still keep losing body fat. Eating often keeps metabolism running smooth and it helps keep nutrients on tap for your body to utilize in the repair of muscle.

Not only that, building muscle without enough calories is impossible. It takes calories (energy) to build muscle.

2. Aerobic exercise should be done every day.

False. Over-training can be done by doing too much cardio as well as too much weight training. Doing anything everyday will have a negative impact on your muscle building results.

When do you rest? Imagine yourself going to your job and working 7 days a week, 365 days a year. How long until you go crazy? Keep cardio to 2-3 sessions per week. Any more than that and you negatively impact your muscle building and your recovery time between workouts.

3. The longer the aerobic session the better.

False. It’s not the duration, it’s the intensity level of what you are doing. Again, more is not better. Doing something better is better. So instead of doing long, drawn-out cardio sessions, make them short (no more than 30 minutes) and intense (work harder!) This will bring about better muscle building results.

4. You need to spend hours a day, many days a week weight training to see results.

False. This is the quickest way not to see results. The process of building muscle is fairly easy. You just lift weights to stimulate muscle growth and then you allow that muscle to recuperate before you train it again and then you try to lift a bit more the next workout.

Keep workouts under an hour and try not to weight train more than 4-5 days a week. Adopt the “more is NOT better philosophy” to all you do.

5. Ab stimulators and energizers will give you a great set of Abs.

False. Abs, just like any other muscle group, need to be worked with resistance training in order for them to develop. Not to mention you need to do cardio to help burn off fat around the midsection and focus on proper nutrition to make sure you keep the fat off.

Abs are developed through overload and these electric stimulators do not overload the muscle. Ab stimulators create involuntary contractions. This may help the therapeutic effect on abdominal muscles but not the muscle building process. These will do nothing for the abs, plain and simple. They will work your wallet more than the abs.

6. You need to work a muscle more than once a week.

False. If done well and intensely, a muscle will not need to be worked more than once a week. In fact, you may get less results if you train a muscle group directly more than once a week.

Muscles need rest and recovery time in order to grow and get stronger. If you are training them all the time, they will not get the needed rest. It’s like trying to get a good tan when you are always sunburned.

These are a few of the top myths I’ve found floating around the internet. These myths have a negative impact on your muscle building goals, so avoid them at all costs!

Muscle Building

Proven Muscle Building Tips To Get Results

fitness — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:00:44 +0000

Shawn Lebrun asked:

The key to building more muscle is what you eat, to fuel your body and give it that much more energy for the tasks at hand, and to have an effective working out routine, to push your muscles to their farthest point of muscle gain.

These are both increasingly important factors when it comes to muscle building, and should definitely be adhered to.

Muscle building tips are easy to come by, and should not be taken lightly or overlooked.

If it is necessary for you to build more muscle, you should want nothing more than to know you are doing the right things, the right way, and muscle building tips will help you to gain the satisfaction of knowing just that.

In the end, the results will be well more than worth it.

You will have the body you always wanted, and that many will admire, as well as the confidence to know that you are eating the right way and looking great because of all the efforts you put into yourself.

Always start small. You will have plenty of time to increase the work load you put your body through, so in the beginning it is important to not start out at this level for your own safety.

Make a weekly or even monthly increase in the amount of effort you put into your work outs.

If at any point you feel as though you are having problems increasing the amount of work you put on your muscles, relax and give it time.

You can always use the Internet as a quick resource for the help you may need, but if you are not ready to move on with your exercises, you should not force your body to be comfortable with it.

You don’t need a gym membership to get yourself in shape.

Maybe you are too embarrassed to go to the gym and get a personal trainer, or maybe it is that you just don’t have the time to- whatever the case may be, there are several alternatives and you can still get your body in the shape you want without going out into the public with it.

Treadmills are just as effective as going out and running or jogging around the block or around a track.

While some may not always have access to a treadmill, you can still walk around in tiny laps in even your back yard for a period of time.

You can also use things such as stair climbers, or objects that can be turned into stair climbers to work yourself out.

In addition, as odd as it may sound, even games can help you to get that work out you need.

Many muscle building tips will tell you that dancing, or playing interactive video games such as the Wii will also give your muscles a work out, although it may not always be the right kinds of work out.

Exercising machines can be an enormous help and strength or muscle gain. If you do have access to a gym, it would be wise to make use of that, as many do not.

Specific work out materials and machines are proven to help you gain strength and muscles. Even simple strategies such as push ups are acceptable.

Weight lifting, squatting, and leaping are all other types of exercises that require little effort from outside sources, simply meaning that you will have little to no excuse for not accomplishing at least an exercise such as this every other day.

However, when it all comes down to it, it is your nutrition that is fundamental.

It is very important to be eating in a proper manner while you are trying to gain weight.

Eating balanced and high protein meals several times a day is crucial to your body weight and will give you the energy and strength needed to complete your routines and exercises.

Without this nutrition, your body might not be able to handle the stress to your muscles, which could cause harm to the body.

These muscle-building tips are important to follow when you are experiencing the need to create muscle gain. They are fundamental to a higher body mass and should not be ignored before working out.

They will help to promote weight gain in a fast and effective manner.

Muscle Building

The 5 Most Common Muscle Building Mistakes

fitness — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:52:00 +0000

Steve Robbins asked:

You see the same people in the gym day after day, week after week, and they never look any different, which is okay if that is their goal. But for most it isn’t. Most people lift weights to get bigger and stronger. After years of seeing these types of people come and go, but never grow, I’ve identified the 5 most common muscle building mistakes that will hold you back forever.

The first and probably the most common is doing too many reps. If doing a lot of reps was the way to build size wouldn’t carpenters have arms like Arnold did? Or wouldn’t marathon runners have huge legs? Only doing high rep (anything over work outs will NEVER allow you to add size and mass.

Secondly most people do not use enough weight. This is partially because of the high rep counts they do. The idea of “lifting big to get big” seems so obvious, yet few do it. Who is bigger and stronger, the person who lifts 500 lbs once or the person who lifts 100 lbs 5 times? They both move 500 lbs of weight, but the mass building effect of each is totally different. You will never add mass or get stronger if you don’t try lifting weight amounts that you presently can’t! How does anybody ever think their muscles will grow to handle loads that they never try to lift? It is the essence of muscle building.

Thirdly, most people lack the workout routine necessary to build muscle. The workouts they do seem to have no rhyme or reason. Building muscle requires a plan. Your workouts should follow that plan. You can not show up at the gym and begin doing stuff and expect it to have a positive effect on your physique. Until you adopt a muscle building plan and stick to it any gain you get will be by sheer effort and luck.

The fourth common error I see is you can not, efficiently build mass and lose weight/fat at the same time. One, the other, but most likely both, will fail. This means lifting for mass gains and doing a lot of cardio exercise simultaneously will undermine your efforts. And not why you think. It has nothing to do with calorie burn. Adding muscle to your body requires a MAXIMUM effort in the weight room. If you have the energy to do a bunch of cardio before or after your lifting, then you left mass building in the gym. You should be physically spent after a muscle building session. And most definitely don’t dilute a lifting session by doing cardio first.

The last common mistake I see people make is related to the previous one. Some people try to make the case that cardio workouts done on non-lifting days is the answer to the above problem. I will say it’s better than doing it the same day, but the truth really is that you need to rest 100% on your non-lifting days because it is on these days that your muscles actually do their growing. Allowing your muscles to recover is the only way you are strong enough to go back in the gym and lift more than you did before. Which is what muscle building is all about, isn’t it?

Muscle Growth

Six Things You Must Have In Any Muscle Building Program

fitness — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:42:37 +0000

Shawn Lebrun asked:

If you’re looking to pack on solid muscle mass, you’ll definitely want to read this article.

Because there’s a lot of confusion on how to gain muscle mass and what it really takes. I want to give you 6 areas you absolutely, positively must focus on in any muscle building program you decide to use:

1: The proper amount of calories.

Since your diet is one of the most important keys to gaining muscle mass, you really need to know HOW many calories to eat, WHAT types of food to eat, and WHEN you should be eating them!

If you consistently under eat, you will NOT gain muscle mass. However, if you tend to overeat a lot, you will likely gain body fat.

So you have to be pretty accurate with your calorie intake in order to gain muscle mass without a lot of fat.

2: The correct approach to training in the gym.

Any muscle building program should give you MASS building techniques so that you can gain quality muscle weight, not just fat.

You want to make sure you’re not training too many days. That will stop your body from recovering and your muscles from repairing themselves.

You also want to make sure you’re not doing too many exercises, reps, and sets because that too could lead to overtraining.

We’ll touch more on it below, but the best approach for building muscle is to stick with the basic compound exercises (bench, squats, deadlifts, barbell curls) and use lower reps and just a few heavy sets.

3: The best possible supplements to help pack on weight.

Let’s get this straight…you do NOT need supplements to gain muscle. You need calories. And I’ve used just about every supplement on the market and many are a complete waste of money! However, there are a few exceptions and some can help you in the muscle gaining process, if you decide to use them.

The main supplements worth taking to gain quality muscle would have to be protein (whey, milk, or egg), creatine, glutamine, EFA’s, a multivitamin, and meal replacements.

Save your hard-earned money and time by avoiding the useless ones.

4: The proper amount of sets and reps for muscle growth without muscle breakdown.

Like we talked about above, you want to make sure you’re setting up your weight training to be the best use of your time and energy.

Most people train the wrong way for muscle growth. What I mean is, they do way too many reps and sets, thinking more is better.

A lower rep and set range is proven to speed up lean muscle growth while minimizing muscle breakdown.

After all, muscle growth occurs from overload. And it makes sense that one of the quickest ways to increase overload (weight lifted) is to lessen the amount of reps and increase the amount of weight.

5: The right balance of protein, carbs, and fats.

If you don’t get enough protein, you WILL NOT gain muscle. If you consume too many fat calories, you’ll gain mostly fat and not muscle. So it’s important that you get the right breakdown of protein, fats, and carbs for your specific body type.

Most advice shows that 50% of your calories should come from protein, 40% from carbs, 10 % from fats. But this is just a guideline. Find what works best for you and stick with that.

6: The right approach to cardio so that you do not burn off all your hard earned muscle weight.

Depending on your goals, cardio may help or actually hurt your chances of gaining weight. If you’re really looking to gain more weight fast, you may not want to be doing cardio at all.

That way, you don’t risk losing weight and muscle by expending calories that could have been used for muscle building.

If you’re looking to lose body fat while still gaining muscle, 3 to 5 cardio sessions a week is plenty.

For someone wanting to pack on the weight, I’d stick with just a couple sessions, none if you’re really desperately trying to gain weight.

Those are 6 basic areas you want to focus on with any muscle building program you use.

The main points again are:

1. Find out the proper amount of calories you need to gain muscle weight without adding a lot of fat.

2. You want to set up your weight training to be the best use of time and energy in the gym. This includes how often to train, how many muscle groups, and how long to rest, both between sets and between workouts.

3. If you decide to invest in supplements, stick with the proven ones like protein, creatine, and glutamine.

4. Using lower reps and fewer sets means you can use more intensity and overload on the muscles. High reps with low weight does nothing for muscle building.

5. Out of your total daily calorie needs, you want to ensure you’re getting the proper ratio of protein, carbs, and fats. You can start with the 50-40-10 ratio or 40-40-20 and go from there, depending on your results.

6. If you want to gain mass quickly, you may want to consider dropping cardio altogether. Or else, 3 to 5 sessions should be more than enough to continue gaining muscle while shedding fat.

Build Muscle

8 Proven Muscle Building Tips

fitness — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:06:46 +0000

Shawn Lebrun asked:

Building muscle requires the right combination of training and nutrition information. That includes muscle building tips that are proven to work.

Using the wrong information can be detrimental to your progress. So be careful who you listen to in the gym. Even though everyone has an opinion, not everyone is right.

The only way to build muscle is by following 3 synergistic principles:

1. Hard, heavy and smart weight lifting 2. Quality nutrition 3. Quality rest

All three must be in place if you’re going to succeed in building muscle. If just one of these elements is missing, you’re not going to come anywhere near your potential.

Here are 8 simple, proven muscle building tips that you’ll want to include in your training and nutrition program.

Tip # 1. Evaluating your body.

By evaluating your current body composition, body weight and body measurements, you give yourself a starting point. This will be very important in deciding what your nutritional and weight lifting goals will be.

Tip # 2. Setting your goals

Looking at the big picture and breaking it down into small mini goals will help you achieve your muscle building goals. It’s important that you identify your goals and periodically monitor and adjust your goals on an ongoing basis.

It’s better if you were to break your goals down into long (3 to 6 months), short (1 to 2 weeks), and immediate term goals. Make sure your goals are realistic. Record your goals and keep them in a handy place where you have constant access to them.

Tip # 3. Keep a weight lifting log and diet log

It’s important that you write everything down. By keeping track of your progress you are keeping yourself honest and motivated. A weight lifting log and diet log can help you get better results. You can look back at the end of each week and figure out if you were on target with your goals.

A weight lifting and diet log will show whether your goals are realistic and give you insight into your exercise and eating patterns. If you’re building muscle and strength, you won’t have to wonder what works, because you’ll have a full description of everything you’ve done to reach your goals. This will be your blue print for muscle building success.

Tip # 4. Setting up your weight lifting program

Setting up your weight lifting program is a lot easier once you know your body statistics and goals. You must decide whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced weight lifter.

Once you know your current weight lifting status, build your weight lifting routine according to that information.

It’s suggested that you incorporate free weight exercises into your muscle building programs as opposed to machines. In order to build muscle you need to concentrate on the basic movements like the squat, shoulder press, bench press, dead lifts, barbell rows and chins.

One of the most important muscle building tips is to keep your workout short, heavy and intense.

Tip # 5. Nutrition

Nutrition is one half of the key to building muscle. Without the proper nutrition, you might as well pack your bags and go home. No amount of super sets, negative sets, tri-sets or pre-exhausting will build any amount of muscle mass without the proper nutrition.

To be honest, nutrition will be that element of your muscle building program that will make the difference between an o.k. physique and one that commands power.

The trick to unlocking your muscle building fury is to find your optimal nutritional state. To build muscle you need to consume more total calories than your body uses each day.

Remember this very important muscle building tip; nutrition is the key to building real muscle. Try eating 6 times per day and make sure each meal is balanced with the optimal amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Tip # 6. Build a diet that supports your nutritional goals

Once you find out what your nutritional goals are, you need to build a menu that will support your goals. Try and find menus that are easy to cook and taste great. The trick is to adjust the menus and recipes to match your nutritional goals.

Tip # 7. Use only proven muscle building supplements

Weight lifting supplements are meant to enhance an already great muscle building program. If you have the right combination of nutrients and the right weight lifting program, proven supplements may enhance your performance.

In order for weight lifting supplements to function properly, they must be taken at the proper times and in the proper amounts.

Tip # 8. Rest

Blasting your body at full throttle all the time will slowly run you down. You need to take some time to rest and relax. Have fun, kick back and relax and enjoy the fruits of you labor. Let your body get into a good rhythm of work and rest.

By getting quality rest you will ensure that you get the most out of your muscle building program. Sleep is vital to building muscle. Make sure that you get enough rest to properly repair your body.

It is during sleep that most growth and repair occurs. Without adequate sleep the body becomes weakened. It is very important that you get the correct amount of sleep because muscle growth happens while you are resting, not while you are training. If you were to lift weights on a steady basis and not get any quality rest, your body would slowly fall apart.

Weight training tears the muscle tissue down and the diet provides the necessary fuel and material for repair, but it is during sleep that the repair and growth process occurs.

Therefore, sleep is as vital to building muscle as is your training program and diet.

You should aim for 6 to 8 hours of rest each night. Don’t be afraid to take a nap in the afternoon or after work to add a little energy to your workouts. Rest is one of those muscle building tips you really don’t think about but is so important.

Use the muscle building tips above in your workout program and you’ll soon start seeing results.

As you progress in your program, make sure to challenge yourself and change your muscle building routine around. This will add a new angle to your training and improve the your results.

Muscle Gain

Muscle Building – How to Avoid Pitfalls on Nutrition Consumption

fitness — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:52:15 +0000

Jerold Smith asked:

Pro body builder Shawn Ray once said he could do the weights and the training in his sleep because it’s fun and relatively easy. It is only the other factors such as dieting and supplementing that really demands discipline.

It is also the primary reason why so many people are trying so hard in the gym only to see a small reward of muscle gain.

Are you one of them? If you are, it is high likely that the problem is not with your routines or workouts but rather your consumption of nutrition.

The great Larry Scott, the first ever Mr. Olympia in 1965 stated that body building is 90% what you eat. At that time, people thought that he was making an overstatement only for us to realize that he knew what he was talking about many years later.

Thus, knowing, it means that if you wish to build muscle successfully, you have to prioritize in your nutrition intake.

Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid on your nutrition intake:

1) Not Enough Protein

While pumping away and tearing away your muscle cells happens in the gym, muscles are formed outside of the gym. And since protein is a main source of building muscle, you must consume protein consistently as you are working out in the gym. Protein consumed must be lean and fat free for example: egg whites, fish, read meats, chicken ****** and whey protein. It is ideal that for every pound of your body weight, that you consume one gram of protein.

2) Not Eating Frequently Enough.

Eat every 3 to 4 hours with small balance meals. Many think that it’s not important and they rather have 2 to 3 meals due to laziness. As mentioned earlier, discipline plays a big role in body building and will make a big difference on where you are and what you do. The reason why you should be eating frequently is that firstly, it will accelerate your metabolism rate, resulting in your body burning fat naturally. Secondly, protein cannot be stored in the body and will usually only last for 3 hours in your body. So by consuming protein frequently, there is a constant supply to build your muscles as your muscles recover.

3) Not Drinking Enough Water

Workouts in the gym can lead to dehydration easily. It is extremely important to replace the fluids that you lost during your training. As 67% of the body is made from water, your muscles will have a hard time repairing itself if they are dehydrated. At the same time, without enough water, your kidneys will also struggle to remove unwanted waste as a result of your increase intake of protein and other substance from your frequent meals per day. So drink as much water as possible starting from today.

4) Drinking Alcohol

One advice that all body builders speaks about is not to consume alcohol. Why? Alcohol contains 7 calorie per gram. Apart from fat which is 9 calorie per gram, alcohol is the second most calorie dense nutrient. By consuming alcohol, it will greatly affect your body’s capability to burn fat. Not only that it will quickly dehydrate your body and also reduce the productivity of testosterone. In conclusion, avoid alcohol at all cost.

5) Consuming Too Much Sugar

Arnold Schwarzenegger calls sugar the “white death”. It suppresses the immune system of your body and has been shown to decrease the number of white cells in the body. Sugar can cause your blood to be also more acidic, which increases vulnerability to toxins, bacteria and viruses. While your body is busy repairing its muscle, anymore more unnecessary stress will cause your muscle building process slow down, thus avoid sugar too.

If you have a proper lifestyle and proper nutrition intake, it is safe to say that you have already won most of the battle to a healthier, and learner body you desire. In a way, you can force your body to gain muscles by working out in the gym, and the only missing ingredient you will need is fuel your body with the right nutrition regularly.

Muscle Building